BrightSource Energy of Oakland, a solar power-plant developer whose first project won $1.6 billion in federal backing, abruptly canceled its initial public stock offering Wednesday night, just hours before trading was scheduled to begin. The surprise move killed what had been the most hotly anticipated clean-tech IPO this spring. It casts doubt on investor appetite for similar offerings in the future. The cancellation could also revive the debate over federal support for renewable power companies. Solar-module maker Solyndra of Fremont, which received $528 million from the same government program that funded BrightSource's first power plant, also canceled a planned IPO...

In 2006 California’s Senate Bill 107 codified a requirement that by 2010 all electricity retailers in the state were to procure 20% of their electricity from “renewables.” That same year L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich established Nuisance Abatement Teams that started combing the Mojave desert hitting isolated residents with ever-expanding lists of code violations, imposing whatever it took to drive residents out, and they made their intentions perfectly clear . . . . . . Apparently it is not enough that our green crony capitalists are getting billions in taxpayer subsidies, or that that rate-payers are forced to buy their...

BLYTHE, Calif.—A major Southern California solar energy project could be delayed or even canceled following a deadly outbreak of distemper among kit foxes and the discovery of a prehistoric human settlement on the work site, according to a report Saturday. The $1 billion Genesis Solar Energy Project near Blythe in the desert east of Los Angeles was on track to start producing power for some 187,500 homes starting in 2014. But critics tell the Los Angeles Times ( http://lat.ms/wrtgOD) the distemper outbreak and discovery of a possible Native American cremation site show that expedited procedures approved by state and federal...

It has to do with a “green energy” company called BrightSource Energy Inc., which develops solar energy products (or intends to someday, anyway). In 2010, BrightSource was in deep trouble. It was $1.8 billion in debt and was losing money hand over fist–a $71.6 million loss on a mere $13.5 million in revenue. A company destined to go down the drain, one would think. But no! The Obama administration bailed out BrightSource to the tune of a cool $1.4 billion in loan guarantees. How could that possibly have happened? Well, start with the fact that the principal investor in BrightSource...

Environmentalists are torn over the high cost of breaking reliance on fossil fuels. Industrial-scale solar development is well underway in California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah. The federal government has furnished more public property to this cause than it has for oil and gas exploration over the last decade — 21 million acres. In the fight against climate change, the Mojave Desert is about to take one for the team. "I have spent my entire career thinking of myself as an advocate on behalf of public lands and acting for their protection," said Johanna Wald, a veteran environmental...

Gov. Jerry Brown sees a modern day message for proponents of solar power in the story of Hanukkah. Speaking at the Capitol Menorah Lighting this morning, the Democratic governor cast the eight-day Jewish holiday, which begins tomorrow, as a good time to reflect on "the whole idea that we're running out of oil so we need a miracle."

SAN FRANCISCO – Gov. Jerry Brown railed Thursday against politicians who doubt climate change, calling them "political lemmings" and the chief obstacle in the fight against global warming. "The main thing we have to deal with in climate change is the skepticism, the denial and the cult-like behavior of the political lemmings that would take us over the cliff," the Democratic governor said at a high-profile conference on climate change at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. At a conference that included Brown's predecessor, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, Brown said climate change has...

SAN FRANCISCO -- Gov. Jerry Brown railed this morning against politicians who doubt climate change, calling "political lemmings" the chief obstacle in combating global warming. "The main thing we have to deal with in climate change is the skepticism, the denial and the cult-like behavior of the political lemmings that would take us over the cliff," Brown said at a high-profile conference on climate change at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. The Democratic governor said climate change has lengthened the state's fire season and quickened its snowmelt, affecting agriculture and taxing public infrastructure. He acknowledged that Californians...

San Francisco residents may soon have a chance to power their homes and businesses with "100 percent" certified green energy. But it won't come cheap. Under the CleanPowerSF program adopted Tuesday by the city's Public Utilities Commission on a 4-0 vote, San Francisco's 330,000 utility customers would be able to get all their power from wind, solar and other renewable sources, starting as early as July 1. On the downside, typical residential customers would also see their bills rise - at least in the short run - by anywhere from $7 to $54.50 a month, depending on their usage. That's...

IN April, Gov. Jerry Brown made headlines by signing into law an ambitious mandate that requires California to obtain one-third of its electricity from renewable energy sources like sunlight and wind by 2020. Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia now have renewable electricity mandates. President Obama and several members of Congress have supported one at the federal level. Polls routinely show strong support among voters for renewable energy projects — as long as they don’t cost too much. But there’s the rub: while energy sources like sunlight and wind are free and naturally replenished, converting them into large quantities...

It sounded too good to be true -- and it was. An ambitious plan to make Los Angeles Community College District a national leader in green technology and renewable energy appears to be in shambles ... (skip) ... Given the high level of publicity that LACCD received for its green initiatives, there is a danger that these revelations will damage the credibility of other green projects on campuses nationwide. It is important to note that the problems besetting LACCD went far beyond the district's green initiatives. The LA Times articles exposed issues at every level of governance from the trustees...

The quest was a noble one: To develop, and help bring to market, new energy technologies that are better for the environment, provide greater system reliability and lower system costs, while furnishing “tangible benefits to electric utility customers.” Well, electric utility customers, you’ve shelled out $700 million for this noble effort since 1996, and what have you gotten? Precious little that could be even loosely interpreted as “tangible benefits,” concludes a report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office. TENUOUS CONNECTIONS Meet the state’s Public Interest Energy Research (PIER) program, built into your electric bill as a “public goods” charge. It has...

Promises of Electric Vehicles? Vlado BevcSynergy Research Institute, P.O.Box 561, San Ramon, California 94583 The promotion of General Motors Chevy Volt by three mayors (Contra Costa Times, November 6, 1010) merits some mundane evaluation from the energy standpoint. Electric vehicles –with an internal combustion engine assist – are compared to a “typical car” using 13 cents of $3.00/gallon gasoline per mile, that is one that makes 23 miles per gallon. (13/300 = 0.0433 gallon/mile) In a conventional car 25 percent of 37 kWh from a gallon of gasoline gets into traction (because of losses in the engine and drive train)....

You and I know it was never about facts, it was about hyping the green dream. Just look at the numbers. First from the opposition:Of course they don’t dare mention the amount of money their side has put into it, because, well, that would look imbalanced. Now have a look at the other side of the issue from the legislator who spearheaded the effort:Logue: Big money beat Proposition 23 By LARRY MITCHELL – Staff Writer CHICO — Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Linda, said big money defeated Proposition 23, which would have put the brakes on Assembly Bill 32, the state’s...

Siobhan Hughes discusses plans to build the world's largest solar plant, approved by the U.S. on Monday. Alternative energy companies are racing to start solar projects before federal incentives expire at year's end.

A proposal to build the world's biggest solar-thermal power plant in the Southern California desert got the go-ahead Monday from the Obama administration, which used the announcement to bolster its message that renewable energy creates jobs. The $6 billion project is being developed by Solar Trust of America, a joint venture between Germany's Solar Millennium AG and privately held Ferrostaal AG on 7,025 acres of federally owned land near Blythe, Calif. The approval clears the way for the developers to seek federal grants and loan guarantees.The Obama administration has been criticized over the past year for hurting job creation by...